Baseball Girl
by Rhona Wiliams
Summary: Andie Hudson lives with her paranoid aunt. The only thing she likes is baseball and her coach is even trying to take that away. Then one day she meets a strange girl who claims that vampires are real, and it's that girl who turns her life upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**Andie POV**

4th July

I just got back from training. I don't know why I ever bothered to go today. Its obvious Coach Lonston is dying to kick me of the team. He would as well if it wasn't for the game next Saturday. The only reason he ever let me on was because Mr Merbert said that he should try to encourage girls to play on the team. But no, to Coach Lonston baseball is for boys, apparently girls have no coordination. But after the Saturday game I know he will find a reason to kick me out, especially if we play as badly as last time. If one of the Gorboard High boys hadn't hit Dan in the face with the bat and got disqualified we would be out of the tournament.

I don't know why the school even wanted a baseball team. No one plays baseball and the school's team has never passed into the 4th round of the tournament. The other team members from other schools are all boys. Some of them even have cheerleaders to encourage them, Mr Merbert tried to set up a school cheerleading team as well but that turned out worse than the baseball. I don't know why teams need cheerleaders any way. All they do is chant and wave pom-poms around wearing skimpy skirts that show off their stick like legs. They giggle and distract players. I just don't see the point.

If I had any sense I would just quit the team, but if I quit it will only make Coach Lonston happy. Anyway I like baseball with out it I would have nothing to cheer myself up with. Whenever I get upset all I have to is image in me winning the tournament for our team, I dream about that sometimes, but for me dreams never come true. If I had any luck then I probably wouldn't be here now, writing in this diary. If I had any luck my parents would be alive.

5th July

I can't believe it! I hate Coach Lonston! How could he do this to me? There is no point in me playing baseball if this is how I will be treated. He's made me a sub! Switched me with Anton Fregerson. Anton is nice and everything but he always hits the ball forward, right into the middle of the pitch. Someone will catch us out for sure. Coach has been waiting for an opportunity to switch me. If he can't kick me out he will do the second worse thing, make me a sub. I can't believe I let him get the better of me; it was such a stupid mistake. I was on the fielding team and the ball was coming into my range. Everyone knows my weakness is in catching and so I was given the part of the pitch where the ball most likely wouldn't come. Coach Lonston was giving us a demonstration and so of course the place he aimed was right at me. I never stood a chance, the ball spun towards me and so of course I made an attempt to catch it. But failed, I watched as the ball hit the ground and bounced away. Coach Lonston stared at me smugly; it had been such an easy catch! If any of the other players had been there at the time they would have caught it easily.

Then after we had finished he called me over and told me the devastating news. He said I was incapable of catching and that I was being moved to a substitute and that Anton would be given my place. I argued, said it was an accident, which only made matters worse. He told me that if I couldn't accept his judgement I had no place on the team. After that it was all I could do to walk away without crying.

There is no point in me playing baseball if I'm not appreciated. Coach Lonston will go to no end to rid his team of the only girl. The only thing I have left is baseball and if he takes that away I have nothing. I may as well just die.

We'll never pass our game on Saturday, there's no point in trying. We were lucky that the Gorboard boy who hit Dan had anger management issues other wise we would already be out. I rarely get luck like that and it is impossible that it would hit twice. We're playing the Forelander Boarders on Saturday and there is no way a snob like one of them is ever going to have anger management problems, we're doomed.

6th July

The big game's tomorrow, Coach Lonston isn't letting us forget. He also isn't letting me forget that I've been made a sub, and how could I forget that? Today's training was the worst we've had in a long time. School was no better. Word seems to have spread about me being booted down a level. Even people that don't know me are whispering as I go past. Apparently they do know me, as the baseball girl, but now I'm just the sub and people I've never seen before are always staring.

No one at school really knows me; Aunt Helen doesn't like people coming to the house and so I never had the opportunity to make friends. Nobody has really tried to be friends with me anyway. Apart from playing baseball I'm the same as everyone else. Not even that I don't wear cool clothes and Aunt Helen doesn't let me have birthday parties, I wouldn't have anyone to invite anyway and my hair is just plain old brown. Aunt Helen won't let me get it cut, she says it's too expensive. She's always worrying about money, I don't get pocket money and every day I get two pounds for a bottle of water and sandwich for lunch and that's it. On my birthday I get a fiver, always the same. I have no control over my life. The minute I turn eighteen I can access the trust fund in my bank account, then I'll be off. I can't wait to get away from school and my paranoid Aunt. I want a fresh start. When I was little I used to image what would happen next, it was always the same, I used to dream that on my eighteenth birthday I left and bought a flat in New York, then I became the first professional woman baseball player. But now I know that that will never happen. Aunt Helen says that baseball is a dead end, she recons I should become a airhostess or a secretary or a nurse. I told her I didn't want to be any of them, that all I wanted to do was play baseball. Then she got mad and shouted, said that baseball was for men and that I wasn't smart enough to do any of those things anyway.

She hates sports, thinks that a woman's place in the house is cleaning and cooking and looking after the children. That's why I'm not allowed to invite people round, encase they mess up her nice clean house. I can't wait to get out of this hellhole.

I'm planning on getting an early night tonight so that I'm ready for tomorrow's game. Although I don't know how I can sleep when I'm this nervous. At least as a sub I can still play occasionally, but if Coach Lonston chucks me off the team I will never get to play, ever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Andie POV**

7th July

Today's the day; I have to leave early because Aunt Helen won't give me a lift. It's weird that my last game is the one I'm not going to be able to play. I'm so nervous but I don't know why, it's not like there's going to any pressure on me seeing as I'm not actually playing. Aunt Helen isn't coming to watch, she never does and I wasn't expecting her to. It's better that way, she doesn't bother me about baseball and I don't ask her about whatever dull thing she does everyday, she probably cleans that already spotless house.

I have to leave now; Coach Lonston will kill me then and there if I arrive at the stadium late.

I'm at the stadium; I thought I might as well bring this diary since all I can do is watch my team loose. Anyway it's not like anyone will notice me and whisper about how uncool I am since they do that even without the diary. No one will notice me anyway, no one ever does. All I have to do is keep this hidden from Coach Lonston. If he manages to get hold of it then the whole world will know my deepest secrets, not that anyone would be interested. But I can't give him another reason to humiliate me.

We've switched over now and my team is batting. The Forelander Boarders have 22 runs and we only have 17, plus Georgie has already been put out. Anton has the bat and I'm dreading what will happen next, I can tell how nervous he is from all the way over here. He'll get a scolding from Coach for that. Coach Lonston is very strict about looking casual and non-caring, probably because we always loose. Anyway, Anton is running for first base, he's hit the ball right into a crowd of fielders as usual but surprisingly hasn't been caught out. Although things aren't looking good for him, one of the fielders has managed to get the ball on it's second bounce and is determined to make up for his fault and put him out anyway. Both of them are racing for first base. Anton's strong point is usually running, it's because he's so fast that Coach Lonston picked him for our team in the first place, but the Forelander is closer. I can't watch! If Anton goes out we don't stand a chance. We never did in the first place but everyone hopes for success, don't they? We've lost so many games that you would think we'd get used to loosing but every time we do it still comes as a blow. I wish I'd stayed home since this is yet another lost game, I just know it is. There's no chance Anton will make it, luck like that just doesn't happen when I'm around. I may as well leave now but if I do everyone will think that I'm a bad looser and I need to clutch onto whatever pride I still have left, how ever little that may be. I have to watch my team loose, even though it kills me. But life's harsh; no one can deny that.

I can't believe it! He did it! Anton made it! The Forelander is stalking off in a huff! We might still have a tiny chance of winning this game after all! Hang on, something's wrong, there's a crowd of players surrounding the base and I can see the referee's yellow shirt through many pairs of legs. Coach is pushing his way out of the crowd, his face like thunder. Out of the gap he's formed I can see Anton sitting in the dust clutching his left leg, the ref is checking for broken bones and judging from the expression on his face it looks as if he may just have found one. Coach Lonston is beckoning to me; I have to play after all.

_"The girl clutched the baseball bat in her sweaty palms. Her teammates stared desperately, praying that she would not lead them to their doom. _

_The pitcher pulled back one arm and prepared to throw the ball. The girl readied she and stared at it, she was swaying slightly and even from the stands the spectators could tell she was struggling to breathe._

_The pitcher threw the white baseball and the girl focused all of her attention onto it. As it spun towards her the sun rose and it's beams leaked over the slanted roof of the stands. She staggered backwards and turned her face away from the blinding rays of golden sunlight that spilled into the stadium. It was as if the sudden sunlight had pushed her away, all the while the ball zoomed through the air. The girl's team drew their breath and all believed that she had missed and that they were out. _

_Then at the last moment the girl swung the heavy baseball bat and sent the ball flying in the opposite direction. The spectators all stared in disbelief all wondering the same thing. The same question everyone in the whole stadium was wondering. How could a girl so small possess such strength? But they only had a matter of seconds to ask themselves the question for the girl wasted no time in running for the first base. The other two members of her team on the second and third base were jolted out of their trances and joined her in the run for victory. The opposing team barely had time to run for the ball before all three players passed over the final base. A homerun."_

**Andie POV**

You will never believe what happened! I'm not sure I even believe it myself! I feel as though any minute now I'll wake up and this wonderful day turns out all to be a dream.

It all started just after my last entry, when Anton broke his ankle and so had to play. I was standing behind Dan and he had just picked up the bat. The pitcher chucked the ball and Dan whacked it easily, then things went horribly wrong. The ball bounced once before a fielder scooped it up and lobbed it at base number one. Defying all rules of physics (well it may not have defied all rules of physics seeing as I have no idea what the hec they are) the ball somehow managed to hit the base. Dan was out before he even had a chance to drop the bat. He turned, disbelief spread all over his face. Dan has only ever been out once in a match before and that was when a player with anger management issues had broken his nose with the baseball bat. He dropped the bat into my out stretched hand and the sudden weight was imposed o me. Not only the weight of the heavy bat, but the responsibility. If I made one tiny mistake and was put out that was it for my whole team. The last two runs had been disastrous and hopefully this one would be better, third time lucky. I lowered my cap over my eyes and tried to look more confident than I felt. My breathing was becoming difficult and I felt dizzy. I staggered forward and concentrated on getting my stance correct. The pitcher was rolling the baseball in one large hand and the white ball seemed to be mocking me, laughing cruelly. He threw the ball and at that moment the sun peered over the stadium. That was when it hit me. Like a huge ball of energy, it burned into me, into my soul. It was a brand new life and I was living it for the first time. I felt a new strength like I could lift the world onto my shoulders as if it weighed no more than a feather. I swung the bat, using all of my new energy and watched as the ball sailed threw the air, and then I bolted for first base, passing over it in a matter of seconds I was passing it and moved onto the next. My new energy felt everlasting and all I wanted to do was run and jump. I wanted to do everything! And I felt as though I could do anything too! I ran past the last base, the Forelanders didn't even have time to reach the ball. I came to a halt, panting slightly although I didn't feel the slightest bit out off breath. Everything was quiet; my teammates all stood gaping at me. The audience all sat silently in their seats, unsure how to react. Then came the first cheer, it was closely followed by another and another. In no time at all the whole stadium was erupting into cheers and wolf whistles. Cheers for _me_. A whole crowd of people were applauding something I had done. I felt a feeling I have never felt before, I felt proud. For the first time in my life I was the best at something, well not the best, but I had done something worthy enough for applause. And it wasn't something like winning a school certificate for topping my class; this was something worth applauding for. I felt like I could burst with happiness. The alarm rang signalling the end of the game, leaving the score 22 for the Forelanders and 24 to us, Dunkeld High School. Everyone was happy, well not the Forelanders who stalked of the grounds sulkily. Coach Lonston looked as if he wasn't sure how to take our victory, he wasn't sure if he should be rejoicing that we had won or sulking because it had been because it was I who had won it. Anton was waving over from the bench; his smile was so huge I thought his face might split in two. I probably looked like that as well and my cheeks were beginning to hurt, but I couldn't stop. We made our way of the pitch in a blur of high-fives and slaps on the back. We had actually won out of skill for once, I felt as if I was dreaming and I never wanted to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Andie POV**

7th July

When I got home I had almost expected Aunt Helen to congratulate me. If that was what I had wanted though I was disappointed, when I came in through the front door and dumped my kit onto the chair in the hall she was in the kitchen. I suppose I was glad that she didn't bother me; I still need to think over what had happened during the game. Perhaps it was just adrenaline but even though I have never in my life experienced an adrenaline rush I don't think it was. I can still feel it now but it's almost as if it is sleeping or something.

Great, just as I was thinking Aunt Helen wouldn't annoy me. She's calling me now, I wonder what she wants, it can't be dinner already.

Oh my gosh, that was horrible! The reason Aunt Helen just called for me! I took my time going down the stairs because I thought whatever she wanted wasn't worth my time. How wrong I was, I'm actually glad she did. When I entered the living room the TV was on, something that rarely happens in my house. Aunt Helen was on the sofa staring with her mouth open at the screen. When I turned my attention to the news reporter being filmed it took me a few minutes to focus on what was happening. The blonde lady was standing in a bleak countryside, hanging overhead were grey clouds and there was smoke mixing into the sad sky. But the bare landscape wasn't the thing that took my breath away. The reporter was standing in front of a huge crater; the smoke was rising from the shadowy depths. The reporter was staring purposely into the camera and I decided I had better listen.

"_I'm here at Sunnydale, or where Sunnydale_ _used to be. This crater behind me is all that's left of the town. Scientists are investigating the causes of this awful incident but none of their theories seem to match the little material they have. There have been no bodies found so far but the team we have sent down the crater are many miles beneath the surface and still have found no signs that they are even nearing the bottom. _

_One of the strangest things about this catastrophe is that days before the accident occurred the residents of Sunnydale all left the area due to the fact that they all had a feeling something bad was going to happen. They have said that there were some disappearances and that the town's teenagers were acting differently. Everyone has said that they all felt like something bad was happening, or would happen, and in this case they were right._

_And now here with me is Doctor Raymond Ferguson to give us his theory."_

"_Yes, thank you. We have many possible ideas on what caused the crater but the most probable one we have found is due to alien activity in the area…"_

I heard no more of the apparent alien activity because Aunt Helen gave an exasperated sigh and switched the tele off. I new what she was going to say I had heard this rant more than once before.

"Scientists! What do they know about anything? I don't see why they are paid so much, false theories and lies. It's all lies they tell us! Alien activity indeed! This was an act off god! And god is all merciful so whatever they did they deserved to be punished! Aliens! Oh the thought!"

Aunt Helen is Christian; she goes to church every Sunday and sometimes drags me along with her. She doesn't believe in scientists, she doesn't believe in science! The one thing she does believe is that god does everything, she doesn't work because she says since she is a loyal follower of him he will put food on our table and pay the bills when they come. Me, I think she's bonkers, completely off her head. If there were a loving god watching over us then my life would be just as fair as everyone else's.

But then I guess people say life isn't fair.

It wasn't fair for the residents of Sunnydale to have their homes destroyed. So that theory is correct.

Life isn't fair.

9th of July

For once I can actually say school was good. Anton wasn't in, but that doesn't really affect me anyway, I just noticed he didn't appear in maths. Lucky him, not the broken leg, but I would do anything to get out of class with Mr Frond who is our maths teacher. He gets a kick out of torturing us for an hour everyday. Mr Frond hates children; I don't understand why he is a teacher at all. But that's not the point.

Practise was weird so, not bad weird, just weird. Everything seems different. Like I'm living a totally new life. We were brushing up on running and just like at the match I could run pretty fast without loosing my breath, well I say pretty. I have no idea how fast I was going but it was faster than most of the guys. Plus coach Lonston kept giving me a funny look. Like I was cheating or something, but I don't see how I can cheat at running.

The others were keeping a bit of distance between me and then as well. I don't think they trust me, but I don't know why.

But the strangest thing is yet to come. When he was tired of watching us run around in circles he decided it was time to try catching. I was rather happy that I had outrun most of my team mates but my heart sank when I heard him say that. _Great_, I was thinking, _Another chance to humiliate myself._

But then the oddest thing happened; when coach threw the ball in my direction I saw things like I had never seen them before. When it was about a metre above me the bal seemed to slow down and unlike usual my mind was actually focused on it. I should have caught it, and in any other situation I would have, but it freaked me out. I'm still freaked out even as I write this. I know the ball slowed down but no one else saw it. I wasn't even listening when coach yelled that I was useless and that I would never have what it took to play next year. I didn't care what he said, I don't care now. The only thing I can think about is what the hell is happening to me. But I do know two things, they are that this isn't normal and that I cannot tell anyone about it. If I do the next thing I'll see is the inside of a padded cell at a mental hospital.

And the main question I want to know is,_ Why me?_

10th July

It's still not gone away, the feeling, it's always inside me waiting to burst free. I haven't felt it as strong as I did at the game but I know it's there. Today coach told us that our next match is next Saturday. As usual I am not looking forward to it. But this time for a different reason, I don't think I'll ruin our chances, I recon we might even stand a chance but I have no doubt that I will still be the host to this strange new feeling, strange new life. Coach Lonston is pushing us to our limits already. I can only guess how he's feeling; none of the baseball teams from our school ever make it past the 4th game. He's determined to do better, everyone is. There was no joking around before or after practise, not even a whisper when we jogged round the field. Everyone was taking it seriously and everyone wanted the same thing, to win. More than ever we wanted to win this coming game.

20th July

I am so tired. Coach Lonston has had us training every night. I barely have time to do homework let alone write in this diary. We have a day off training so we can rest before tomorrow and for the first time in ages I think I will actually be able to sleep. We're playing Norcrust, I've never heard of them before but I heard Dan saying something about them being good. Hopefully not amazing, I don't think we could stand that but we do have a chance tomorrow, even if it is a slim one.


End file.
